Comparing sleeping bags can be pretty difficult. Manufacturers quote a variety of numbers and measurements and prices vary dramatically. It can be hard to sort through it all and make a good decision.

I’ll talk about a few important quantifiable considerations, and leave the qualitative decisions to you.

Fit is a qualitative factor that should be considered carefully for example. For example, a snug fitting bag will have less space to heat and keep warm, will likely be lighter weight, but many people may feel constricted and uncomfortable.

Three of the main quantitative measures for down sleeping bags include the weight, the down, and the price. I’ll cover those.

Fill Power

Fill power is an important concept when discussing down sleeping bags. Fill power is a measure for the quality of down. It is expressed in cubic inches per ounce of down. High quality down fills more volume per ounce than low quality down. This means for a given volume of sleeping bag loft, higher quality down will weigh less. An important consideration.

What I’ve done to compare the sleeping bags is to multiply the weight of down fill (in ounces) by the fill power of down used. This gives a standard “volume” of down that can be used to compare straight across. Simply looking at weight of fill can mislead you.

Bags Included in the List

I included bags rated from –15F to –25F. I also stuck with “regular” length bags, although two bags stood out as a bit strange to me. The Montbell bag only fits to 5’10”, and the Mountain Hardwear bag fits to 6’6” in the regular size. All of the other bags have a 6’0” fit for regular. Keep this in mind when comparing the bags. If you are larger or smaller, perhaps one of these bags would be a better match for your needs.

Table Data

I’ve used the stoplight system of red, yellow, and green to highlight the low, middle, and best three in each category respectively. So, the heaviest three bags will be red, the three most expensive will be red, and the three with the least fill volume will be red.

I also calculated the mean and standard deviation for each of the three columns.

The Table

Sleeping Bag

Weight

Fill Volume

Price

Feathered Friends Peregrine

62

31790

684

Feathered Friends Ptarmigan

59

31025

654

Kelty Foraker

66

28500

449.95

Marmot Col EQ

68

30400

619

Montbell UL SS Down Hugger Exp

55

30400

529

Mountain Hardwear Wraight SL

72

28800

610

The North Face Solar Flare

66

28000

499

Western Mountaineering Puma GWS

60

31450

740

Western Mountaineering Puma MF

55

30600

640

AVERAGE

63

30107

603

SD

6

1352

93

All information is from the manufacturers.

I personally own the Marmot Col EQ and reviewed it. I’m quite happy with it, despite it being one of the heavier bags on the list. It is quite warm and has several features I like.

I hope this chart helps you pick a cold weather bag. Let me know if you liked it, and would like to see a similar compilation for bags in another temperature range.